When Dreams Turn Into Nightmares

I love the animated movie “Joseph King of Dreams”. I believe it portrays Joseph’s story so well. Recently my husband and I had a conversation about dreams. We had a dream that apparently isn’t going to be fulfilled…at least not in the way that we had planned.

It has been one of our dreams to someday retire in a cozy log cabin somewhere near the mountains. We long for the type of place that we always try to escape to when we need a little R&R time from the stress and strain of the ministry.

After living in parsonages for 20+ years we had an opportunity to build our first home. Excited, I rushed out to the house after the concrete pad for the driveway had been poured and carefully inscribed the whole verse of Jeremiah 29:11.

“For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

Our plan was to sell the home in a couple years and use the profit to purchase a piece of land where we would one day build our dream home: A cozy, comfy, log cabin.

A month after we put our house on the market the economy started its slow belly-up death. Our house has been on the market for three years. We have moved away and are living in yet another parsonage, unable to sell the home below the amount we owe the bank, let alone make a profit.

So what do you do when your dreams turn into nightmares? You remember the lessons learned with the story of Joseph. He had a dream that he would one day be a leader, someone in power with authority because in his dream his entire family bowed to him.

We all know how Joseph’s dreams became a nightmare, but that doesn’t mean it was over.

But the Lord was with Joseph and showed him mercy and gave him favor… Genesis 39:21

And he went from the pit to the prison and rose to a position in the palace and they all lived happily ever after… *sigh*

Not too long ago we had to go back to take care of some things at the house. The verse in the driveway that was inscribed with bold confidence of a means to fulfill our dreams made me question why God allowed this to happen. Obviously our plan wasn’t His path for us.

Proverbs 16:9 A man’s heart plans his way, but the LORD directs his steps.

What do we do when our dreams turn into nightmares? We stay true to God and pray for Him to show us mercy and grant us favor and trust in His timeline, not ours…and never stop dreaming.

When we all get to heaven, you all can go enjoy your mansions. I just want a log cabin near some mountains. But for now I will simply Traipse Through Life with a Mari Heart.